The World In My Room
by kirei chime
Summary: So many things can happen in so little a time even in a single setting-even in one's own room. Can Yuji and Shana really decipher what they feel for each other? Will they be able to admit it?
1. Chapter 1

THE WORLD IN MY ROOM

(Note: I don't own Shakugan no Shana. I am just a fan.)

Piece 1: At the end of the day…

Shana ended the training sessions with Sakai Yuji early that night. They entered the window, and Shana flopped on the bed contentedly. Yuji looked at his friend in content and sat down on the floor.

"Hey Shana, do you want anything to eat?" Yuji asked while removing his socks.

Shana was pissed off that someone even bothered to care. Of course, she wanted to grab a snack, but she wasn't willing to admit to Yuji that she was hungry. Her stomach was honest; it grumbled very loudly that Shana had to blush in embarrassment.

"I only want melon bread, that's all," she replied curtly.

Yuji smiled, since his friend only seemed to live for melon bread. Even the toughest of warriors had a soft spot at least, and melon bread was Shana's soft spot.

"I'd check out if Mom bought some melon bread," Yuji said.

"Of course she did," Shana replied. "I went shopping with her this morning."

Ah, how well Shana knew! And so, Yuji went downstairs to grab a midnight snack for both of them.

As they were silently eating, Yuji's cell phone rang. The number registered on the screen belonged to their classmate, Yoshida Kazumi. Yuji answered the phone, not minding that Shana was listening to the conversation.

"_Urusai, urusai, urusai _(Shut up, shut up, shut up)!" Shana shouted to Yuji in her thoughts. She didn't like the idea that Yuji and Kazumi had gone closer by the day.

_Earlier that day, Yuji expressed his excitement and pleasure when Kazumi brought bentou for him. She had done that for the last few weeks already, and Shana knew that Kazumi had expressed her love for Yuji. She, meanwhile, hadn't had the chance to say anything even if she and Yuji had been together for the rest of the day. Sigh! Kazumi had the advantages. She knew how to cook, be it viand or any sweet treats. Yuji seemed to enjoy those fine cooking. Meanwhile, Shana couldn't even leave the kitchen without any exploding ovens at all. No matter how much Chigusa-san teaches her how to cook, she never learned. Not even her "helper" and fellow Flame Haze Wilhelmina could cook well._

_ Lately, Yuji and Kazumi went to the library together, ate together, did things together, and went home together. Yuji only was with Shana everytime they went to practice and in battles, and lately, no Tomogara had been disturbing them. Shana couldn't even give the excuse of having those battle exercises since she knew that she and Yuji had already made an agreement as to the time and place and she knew she couldn't break it. _

_ The teachers had their meetings that afternoon, so the students went off earlier than usual. Eita, Yuji, Shana, and Kazumi went to Satou Keisaku's house, for the latter was rich and had food most of the time. There, the whole gang save Shana feasted on the snacks as well as enjoyed the videoke prepared by Keisaku's household helpers. Later, the femme fatale Margery Daw came in drunk again, and bypassed the high school students having revelry at the common room. Keisaku, trying his best to be a good host to a guest, accompanied the drunk Flame Haze, and to his amazement, Shana offered to help. As they were helping the blonde bombshell to her room, Keisaku noticed that Shana seemed a bit annoyed and deep in thought. After making Margery comfortable in bed, the two students went out._

_ "You're quite disturbed today, aren't you, Hirai-san?" _

_ Shana looked at the bad-boy-looking guy beside him. She was used to his formal ways, as she was used to being called Yukari-chan by the other students. Of course, she was simply using Hirai Yukari's existence. Yet, she didn't answer Keisaku._

_ "Is it about Sakai and Yoshida?" he asked. _

_ Shana didn't answer him. She didn't want anybody to guess that she was hopelessly in love with Yuji. Keisaku couldn't be fooled. Although Shana didn't tell anybody of her crushes, but he was able to tell. It was totally obvious that she was avoiding the two people since last week. And only he noticed._

_ "What is it to you, then?" Shana threatened him._

_ "Nanimo…," Keisaku lied. "Although you aren't willing to admit it, but I know."_

_ "Urusai!" Shana said to him in his thoughts. How dare he pry to her private emotions! He didn't know! Of course, he didn't know. He was simply pretending to know. _

_ "Don't worry Shana, I won't tell him," Keisaku said to her without looking at her in the eye._

_ Shana looked at the tall guy beside her. Of course, Keisaku was always trustworthy. Even if he may seem the I-don't-care-about-anything type, he doesn't mind who you are and simply listens to you anyway. He also thinks his way through and finds a way to solve his problems, which is why Margery trusted him so much to find unrestricted spells for her. Shana, however, wasn't willing to trust her secret to him. Even if Chigusa-san likes her a lot for a daughter, she didn't tell Yuji's mom that she had a special feeling for her son. She simply cannot tell her._

"Shana, _daijoubu_?" Yuji asked.

Shana's thoughts vanished into thin air. She gave a startled but stupid look at him.

"You seem to be in deep thought," Yuji asked her. "Are you really okay?"

"_Urusai_! Shut up!" Shana yelled. "_Urusai, urusai, urusai_!"

Something really bothered her, he thought. She wouldn't be throwing out curses if nothing upsets her. He never knew that everytime Shana became conscious of him and gets irritated by his meddlesome but irritatingly sweet behavior, she would always curse him.

"_Nande_, Shana?" Yuji softened his voice in query. Shana liked it when Yuji got concerned for her, but at the same time, irritated. What does he want?

"Nothing, Yuji…it's just, I am pissed off," she admitted.

"Pissed off? Of what?" he asked.

"_Kinishinai de_…(never mind)," Shana said as she turned his back on him and hid her tears.

Yuji didn't hear her cry, but it was obvious that she did for she was shaking a bit.

"You are not okay, Shana. I am your friend. Please tell me what is bothering you," Yuji offered.

Her heart ached again. She was a Flame Haze, and she had chosen that destiny. She had to fight and fight all the time. She had no time, however, to fall in love. And here it goes again. Yuji was simply a Mystes who would die someday if the treasure in him would get into the wrong hands. In short, he was just a special torch with a special gift. And for her, it was not right for the two of them to be together. 

-tsuzuku


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: There's a Kind of Hunch

Yuji's POV

_Shana is not herself today, not even in the past weeks. I wonder what got into her. She was having her tantrums again, but she refused to tell me about it. Was it because I was so lame in practices? I admit, I am not as cool as Keisaku, but at least, I am able to do my stuff like he didn't. I even envy Ike for being so busy with cram school. What the heck? Maybe I am not worth the things that I am doing now, but I am doing my best to be at par with Shana's expectation of me being a Mystes. Of course, the treasure inside me keeps me alive for as long as I have this, and I am doing my best to train._

_ Of course, I am also just human even if I am a torch. I enjoy Kazumi's bentou almost everyday, and it tastes just like Mom's cooking. I enjoy school festivals and get tired at the end of the day. That is why Shana shouldn't be so harsh on me. I am not like her who could withstand such a harsh battle such as the ones we had with Dantalion, his army of robots, and the Bal Masque._

_ If I have to guess why she was upset with me lately, then maybe—just maybe, it is because I am with Kazumi most of the time. And nothing seems to offend her more than that. Well, I guess she should accept that Kazumi and I had been paired for science project, and she should understand that. Even if Kazumi and I are together, we also had our share of difficulties, for the subject given to us wasn't that easy. At least, Shana and Keisaku are done with their project. Shana has the brains to finish it and Keisaku has the resources. If I were to choose, I would rather be with Ike, since I know he had a lot of plan up his sleeves for any science project that might come up. I might even prefer Keisaku or Eita, though I presume that both of them wanted to be partners for the project since both of them just wanted to cut classes at anytime of the day. But most especially, I still prefer Shana for a number of reasons. First, I know very well that she is comfortable with our house that she is a habitué. Second, I know that after classes, Shana won't find it hard to find me for practices. Third, I know that the Tomogara are very unpredictable, so I am pretty rest assured that once they find me, Shana is my damsel in shining armor. Yet, she knows that I cannot rely on her all the time, hence, she trains me everyday. Fourth, I am comfortable around her, as if there is this relationship that only the two of us understands. It is as if she means the world to me, as if fate plots with time to put us together in one piece. It is as if…_

-tsuzuku


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: I Can't Find the Words To Say…

"Do you believe in soul mates, Shana?" Yuji asked her. That was the thing he had been trying to figure out all along.

"Huh?" Shana asked in irritation. She still hadn't got over her unrequited feelings.

"Soul mates are two people met by serendipity, as if both of them were really meant to meet for each other," Yuji explained. "Not necessarily for love. I mean, your soul mate might not be a lover, but he can be a friend, a brother, a savior, everything you want him to be, everything he will be."

"I don't know that," Shana said. "And how would I know?" Of course, she is naïve on those kinds of things. "I don't know such kind of things. I am a Flame Haze."

"That is just it! I don't care if you are a Flame Haze, Shana. Remember, to me, you are now Shana. And I am Yuji. Whatever we are to each other, that we are, and no one can ever change that."

Shana looked at him, clueless. She totally had no idea what he was talking about.

"And?" Shana asked.

"And what?" Yuji asked.

"_Baka_!" Shana cried in dismay. "You have the nerve telling me all those soul mates and all, yet you can never get me straight to the point! What is the point then?"

Yuji smiled at her then looked at the stars outside the window. By now, the stars are hiding behind violet clouds.

"Maybe we could be soul mates, Shana," he said to her. "We have been through many things, and no matter what happened, we end up finding each other."

The revelation hit her nerves and froze her. They could be soul mates. Why not? But then, soul mates could be lovers or friends. Then, there might be a possibility of them becoming lovers. But why is Yuji not professing or anything?

"Yuji…" was all Shana could say.

"_Jaa_, Shana, might as well get to sleep," Yuji told her.

Shana got frustrated. She thought Yuji was going to profess. She knew about professing and kissing, after seeing that movie with Yuji. She even learned from Chigusa-san that kissing is a form of an oath. She never knew love was that complicated with stuff such as soul mates, love-making, and childbearing in that kind of subject. If Love was a subject in school, she was sure she was going to fail. And what pissed her all the more was that she knew that Kazumi knew all those, being a normal girl and all. She was damn frustrated that she got out of bed.

"I'm going home," she declared.

"No, Shana," Yuji protested. "It is past midnight."

"I can manage," Shana stubbornly replied. "Besides, Wilhelmina won't be worried about me."

And during the whole time, the Flame of Heaven just kept quiet and listened to them. As Shana was about to get out of the window, Yuji pulled her wrist and instantly wrapped her into an embrace.

"Please don't go, Shana…" he pleaded.

Shana melted in his arms and wasn't able to move a single muscle in her entire body. She was sure that this was the thing her mind didn't understand, but that same thing that her heart wanted and needed.

"Yuji…" she whispered.

Yuji wasn't able to express how he felt. Yet, actions spoke louder than words.

"I like you, Shana…" he finally confessed.

Shana closed her eyes and let tears fall down carelessly.

"Yuji… you never knew this, but I also like you all along," she thought. She was afraid to admit, but she was also afraid to let go.

"Don't let me go, Yuji," Shana said. "I want to be your soul mate. I want to be your everything. I want to be…your first and last love…"

"You love me, do you Shana?" Yuji whispered. "Which is why you finally found a purpose to save my life many times."

"That is true, Yuji…" Shana said as she continued crying in his chest. "I just want you to know that I love you so much."

"I love you too, Shana…" Yuji admitted.

They shared that sweet embraced the whole night until the rain fell down the sky.

-owari-


End file.
